Teen's interview with John Lennon yields Oscar nod

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - A 1969 encounter between a
14 year-old Beatles fan and John Lennon has inspired "I Met the
Walrus," a five-minute Canadian film contending for an Oscar
for best animated short.

Think "Almost Famous" with the Beatles. Except this
portrait of a young boy in a dream landscape is told from his
lips. The voice track for "I Met the Walrus" is based on an
interview Jerry Levitan did 39 years ago with a surprisingly
accommodating John Lennon.

Levitan, now a lawyer in Toronto, recalls doorstepping as a
fake photographer to get into Lennon and Yoko Ono's room at the
city's King Edward Hotel.

"My heart was beating so fast. I was like Al Pacino in 'The
Godfather,' where he's in the restaurant with the planted gun
and about to kill the cop," he says, remembering how he
summoned the courage to knock at Lennon's door.

When Levitan did knock, the door opened a crack, he uttered
"Canadian News," and was led in.

Levitan recalls Lennon throwing him a broad smile as he
entered the crowded room. He fumbled with a Super 8 camera and
an old Kodak Brownie around his neck to maintain his ruse.

After Levitan got Lennon to sign his copy of the "Two
Virgins" album, he summoned yet more chutzpah.

"I just said to John, 'Can I come back later and bring a
tape recorder and do an interview on peace so I can let kids
listen to it?"' he recalls.
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